The Israeli government has formally endorsed a controversial measure to designate vast territories within the occupied West Bank as state property, a decision critics argue constitutes de facto annexation of Palestinian lands. The proposal, jointly advanced by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, and Defense Minister Israel Katz, received official approval on Sunday.
This legislative action effectively enables Israeli authorities to legally appropriate unregistered or purportedly abandoned Palestinian land by reclassifying it under state ownership. The move follows Israel’s 1968 suspension of a Jordanian-administered land registration system, which had prevented Palestinian residents from formally documenting property ownership since Israel’s occupation began in 1967.
Minister Katz characterized the decision as “an essential security and governance measure designed to ensure control, enforcement and full freedom of action for the state of Israel in the area.” Smotrich explicitly stated the government’s intention to “continue the settlement revolution to control all our lands,” adding that the measures “fundamentally change the legal and civic reality” and effectively “bury the idea of a Palestinian state.”
The Palestinian presidency, through the Wafa news agency, condemned the action as a “dangerous escalation” equivalent to annexation, arguing it violates multiple UN Security Council resolutions including Resolution 2334 which condemns Israeli settlements as illegal. Hamas denounced the measure as attempted land theft and “Judaization” by an illegitimate occupying power.
Regional powers including Jordan, Qatar and Turkey joined in condemning the decision, which follows recent measures facilitating Jewish Israeli ownership of Palestinian land. Critics warn these developments accelerate settlement expansion and fundamentally undermine the 1993 Oslo Accords by expanding Israel’s civil control into areas previously under Palestinian Authority jurisdiction.